The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) will be enthused about the next Indian Premier League (IPL) media rights e-auction, for the next five years (2023-27). For the first time since the Indian marquee league’s inception, media rights will be e-auctioned on June 12. The process will be lengthy, and the final bidder may not be revealed for several days. The major contenders for the media rights e-auction are Disney Star India, Sony Sports Network, Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited (ZEEL) and the Reliance-backed Viacom18.
The IPL media rights e-auction will proceed at 11 AM IST on June 12 in Mumbai.
Invitation to Tender (ITT):
The initial Invitation to Tender was purchasable until May 10. Bidders were given access to the tender document after paying a fee of INR 25 lakh (excluding taxes).
Bidders for the media rights:
Star, which purchased the media rights in 2017 for 16,347.5 crores, will face stiff competition for its OTT platform Disney+ Hotstar this time around. Other bidders include Reliance Viacom Sport18, Zee Entertainment Enterprises, Dream11 (Dream Sports Inc), Sony and SuperSport (South Africa).
Apparently, Amazon has withdrawn from the race for IPL media rights. Google, as well as Apple Inc., did not participate in the technical bidding process.
Bundle A:
This category includes the Indian subcontinent TV rights, which has a base price of INR 49 crore per game. The total amount for TV rights is INR 18,130 crore for 370 games spread over five seasons at 74 games per season.
Bundle B:
This section consists of digital rights for the Indian subcontinent, starting at INR 33 crore per game. The five-year starting price is a sum of INR 12,210 crore.
Bundle C:
This is a special package of 18 games that consists of Opening Match, Playoff Matches, and Double-header Night Matches. The bundle has a reserve price of INR 16 crore per game or INR 1440 crore over five years.
Bundle D:
This package is for the Rest of the World (ROW) and has a starting price of INR 3 crore per game or INR 1110 crore over five years. The bundle winner will receive both TV and digital rights for international markets outside of the Indian subcontinent.
With Star snatching the rights for over INR 16,000 crore half-decade ago, the BCCI is expected to receive at least double the amount this time around. According to the industry experts, the amount to earn the media rights for the cash-rich league might go up to INR 50,000 crore.